Dreads

On the woodland way into downtown Northampton.

Rays of the rising sun strike a table in the Haymarket.

Twin icons.

I see in the window of Broadside Books that Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has a new book out called "My Beloved World."

I'd like it better if it were entitled "My Beloved Constitution" but I'm not surprised it's not.

The race to replace Senator John Kerry was shaping up to be a dismal choice between clueless lefty Ed Markey and government union stooge Stephen Lynch, with the Republicans offering no meaningful alternative since Scott Brown bowed out of the race. Now however a Western Mass native from Amherst has the potential to bring the race alive, according to Larry Kelley:

So if ever there was a compassionate conservative in the state of Massachusetts who could take the baton hand off from Scott Brown and set his own blistering pace it would be Dan Winslow.

Yes, amazingly enough, someone born in Amherst that's fiscally conservative, with a profound respect for bedrock family values -- including the American flag.

Read more here.

You may think that you know how to behave in a restaurant, but maybe you don't. Click here.

Some of these are dreadful.

Uranium

A good place to sit in order to spy on who comes down the staircase to the lower level of the Haymarket in Hamp.

In the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College.

Can you guess which piece I chose from Antonio's in Amherst?

Did Howie Carr ever actually look like this?

Howie today.

Howie's books on Boston politics are the best.

Hey man, you cool?

Nod.

Ya holding?

Yeah.

This is too funny. Click here and read the comments.

I stumbled upon a musical scene in Herter Hall at UMass.

A bar walks into a man and they both realize they're in a Dadaist joke.

Tattoo

I do not have any tattoos. I seriously considered it years ago, back when nobody had tattoos except circus people, ex-cons and sailors. I would have put it on my shoulder and it probably would have been the Grateful Dead icon known as "The Contemplative Jester."

However now that tattooing has become so mainstream, I've lost interest in it. I have the heart of a hipster that way, it spoils things for me if something gets too popular. It's sometimes justified. For example back in the 70's when you could get Grateful Dead tickets right up to the day of the show, we used to say, "More people should be into the Grateful Dead!" Then our wish came true and the Dead in their final years were the highest grossing touring band in the country. It also become hard to get tickets to shows that sold out within hours of when they went on sale. So be careful what you wish for.

Anyway, here are some of my friend's tattoos:

A bird.

Run.

Rose.

Belly button lizards.

This is the one I like best.

Paolo Mastrangelo took this picture in New York City this afternoon.

FEB

Today is February the First and my neighbor put up Valentine decorations.

This was the view out the bus window leaving downtown Hamp this morning.

Bruegger's in Amherst has a mural on the wall that shows downtown Amherst, including itself.

However, the people in the mural have the blank-eyed stares of zombies.

My friends at SCREWY (Society for the Creative Realization of a Weirder You) made this classic video of a zombie invasion of Amherst, in which they attack (where else if searching for brains?) the Food For Thought bookstore.

The contentious (some would say bitter) battle for the booby prize of top Massachusetts Republican has been won by Kirsten Hughes (above with Bob Maginn and Rick Green) according to the Boston Globe.

NATICK -- Kirsten Hughes, a campaign aide to former US Senator Scott Brown whom he chose to lead the Massachusetts Republican Party through the upcoming election cycle, was voted state party chairman Thursday night in a contest so narrow that it briefly appeared to be a tie.

Hughes beat Rick Green, a Pepperell conservative who had galvanized activists with his anti-establishment appeal and pledge to grow the party from the grassroots.

The contentious fight over leadership had further divided the state’s minority party, which is still reeling from its losses in November and is preparing for an upcoming special election to fill John F. Kerry’s seat in the US Senate. Many thought that a loss for Brown’s candidate would leave him looking weak as he positions himself for another political move.

Of course today Scott Brown announced that he is not running, which should alter the race in any number of interesting ways, such as drawing more Democrats into the contest. And who will be the GOP standard bearer? To read more about the Hughes election click here.

A drawing of me writing.

Feminists still hate Mick Jagger for this song.